Claire Van Der Boom Replaces Lily Rabe in An Early History of Fire Off-Broadway

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28 Feb 2012

Claire Van Der Boom

The New Group has announced that Claire van der Boom will replace Tony nominee Lily Rabe in the world premiere of An Early History of Fire, a new work by Tony winner David Rabe, Off-Broadway this spring.

Rabe (The Merchant of Venice, Seminar) was originally announced to star as Karen in the premiere of her father's play, which will be staged by Jo Bonney beginning April 5 towards an April 23 opening night. Performances are scheduled through May 26.

Scheduling conflicts prevent Rabe's participation in the production. She is also announced to star in the Shakespeare in the Park production of As You Like It this summer.

The cast of An Early History of Fire will also include Deema Aitken, Gordon Clapp, Erin Darke, Jonny Orsini, Devin Ratray, Dennis Staroselsky and Theo Stockman.

According to the New Group, "An Early History of Fire is set in a small Midwestern town at the tipping point of the early 1960s. A few years out of high school, Danny finds his days defined by friendship and loyalty – but a confusing new world encroaches in the form of Karen, back from college in the East, alluring and unsettling because of all she has learned. Awhirl in longing and eyeing a chance for radical change, Danny struggles against the grip of his immigrant father, who clings to his only son while mourning a vanished world of lost prestige."

Tony-winning playwright David Rabe's plays include The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, Sticks and Bones, The Orphan, In the Boom Boom Room, Streamers, Hurlyburly, Those the River Keeps, A Question of Mercy, The Dog Problem and The Black Monk.